After some digging, I found the press release and website for the Dewalt MD501 phone and will share what I’ve found so far.

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The new Dewalt smartphone comes from a partnership with Global Mobile Communications, a company that specializes in rugged phones. The phone is: manufactured under license by Global Mobile Communications Limited and made in China by RugGear.

This new Dewalt Android Lollipop (5.1) phone is said to be waterproof, dustproof, and weatherproof. It weighs 245 g (8.64 oz) and measures 156 x 82 x 14 mm (6.14″ x 3.23″ x 0.55″). Here are the features that set this phone apart as a rugged device.

“Fully resistant to dust and particles and waterproof up to 30 minutes if immersed in 2m of water”

It appears that, since the press release is from Dewalt UK, and they are partnering with a UK company to make the phone, this is likely a UK-only device for right now. The listed retail prices excluding VAT is £379.00 or about $550.

First Thoughts

Spec-wise, this is not a top tier phone. It uses a budget phone processor, it’s loaded with Android Lollipop, an older version of the operating system, and doesn’t seem to have 802.11ac WiFi connectivity. The high cost of the phone comes from its rugged construction.

Since Global Mobile Communications makes rugged mobile phones, there’s a pretty good change that this is just a rebranded phone from them. In fact if you go to their store, you can find a phone that is virtually identical, even down to the price.

If want you dig further into the information I’ve found, I’ve included links to all my sources in Big_Adam’s post on the ToolGuyd forum.

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About Benjamen

Benjamen Johnson grew up watching his dad work as a contractor and woodworker. He became an electrical engineer and took an interest in woodworking. Check out Ben's projects at Ben's Workshop or follow him on twitter or instagram.

15 Comments

I think they lost half of their potential customers by not having it available for Verizon. I’m sure in many cities any carrier just works fine, but where I have been at a lot lately, nothing gets a better signal than Verizon.

I do not like Verizon at all after an unlimited-data bill debacle with them, but their coverage still seems to be the best.

Wonder if it will fail as fast as the Facebook or Amazon phone. Likely reason there is no Verizon phone is there are some Verizon bands only used in US and eventually they are going away. Dewalts partner probably doesnt make phones that use those bands.

Budget level specs seem to be the norm for rugged smartphones. I’m guessing it’s because manufacturers are trying to maintain a certain price point, but I’d just once like to hear it from the horse’s mouth that it’s impossible to produce a smartphone with reasonable price, specs and ruggedness, and maybe a current OS.

eh, its a cheaply made phone, it doesnt need to sell many because it will have high margins.

Does dustproof, weatherproof, and vibration resistant even mean anything? If your waterproof, what would dust do to a phone? what specific design makes something dust proof? and with all solid state components, what does vibration proof mean?

It’s interesting to see some parallels between phones and tools (longer run-time, faster charge, more sophisticated electronics).

I was going to mention this in a post a while back about “What’s next for cordless tools” and I believe someone beat me to it that weather proofing has to be a priority. That’s definitely been the focus with phones lately especially the Samsung ones and I hope we see more waterproofing with tools as well. They’ve gotten better but I know plumbers still complain about water killing their tools or leaving something out in the rain.

This phone doesn’t do much for me spec wise, I’d rather have a top notch phone and a good cover on it – but I like the direction they’re going with the glass that doesn’t shatter and waterproofing.

Being an actual contractor that deals with business all day my phone is my main tool. Not only for communicating through calls, text and email but also the many apps that help in the field and ultimately my camera! What’s most important to me with all this going on is my battery upgrade. It is made by mophie. Anything that can’t compare to that isn’t going to cut it. Another useful thing is any battery powered USB port. I have the Milwaukee tru view 18 volt work light that has this feature and it’s so helpful.

I went from an S5 to an S7 and while my battery would be almost dead on the S5 with normal usage after a day the S7 is right now at 50% after 14 hours of use. Not bad.
This phone is crap. They’d be far better off teaming with a top tier brand. Lousy processor (28nm and slow, which will make for a lousy experience), 720p resolution, 1080p video at 30fps, and b/g/n wireless only. Wireless charging is nice, as is dual Sim and memory card slot but everything else is pretty crappy. You’re really getting a low end phone, MT6735 came out a year ago for budget phones, with a fancy case and questionable support. An S5 Active would be faster and cheaper and do more as would either of the newer active phones tho the S7 wouldn’t be cheaper. They’d also have the benefit of being able to buy a nice case so that your phone doesn’t look like a WW2 relic at your next renewal.
If they partnered with Samsung or LG for a trade phone and did IP 68 and an extended warranty program and maybe offered something like a functional IR camera or temperature sensor or…. I could see it being very popular. It needs to have good specs tho otherwise people just assume that the phone/manufacturer is garbage.

My $80 life proof case gives me similar ruggedness. yes it costs extra, but when I beat my case to hell which is usually every six months I can buy a new case for $80 and have a nearly brand new phone again for that low price of $80 because it protects it from nearly everything.